Description
The purple coneflower is a perennial of the aster family from North America. It has stiff flower stems reaching 100 cm, which do not tend to flop and need no support. The dark green leaves are oval to lance-shaped, pointed, sharply toothed and set on long stalks. The whole plant is covered with rough hairs. It has medicinal properties.
It flowers for a long time, from July to October. The flower heads reach 12 cm across. Pink-purple ray florets surround a spiky, domed centre made up of orange-brown disc florets. It attracts bees and butterflies, which love to settle on it. There are many varieties with white flowers and in various shades of pink.
It is used as a border perennial and is also suitable for growing as a cut flower. After flowering you can pull off the remains of the ray florets, dry the decorative cone with its long stem and put it in a vase with other dried flowers.
Requirements
It needs humus-rich, fairly fertile, moderately moist soil. It grows best in sunny or lightly shaded positions.
Propagation
It is propagated from seed.